Last
by Caltrop
Summary: Twenty different animals have been selected to represent the last of their kind in a one-for-all deathmatch to determine the superior species. Which animal will last the longest? (Accepting OCs, sort of.) Inspired by Battle Royale. R&R please.
1. The Capsule

20/20

On the other side of the earth, just below the equator, it is nighttime for the island of Okishima. While the surrounding ocean reflects the stars and the moon, the only illumination from the island is produced by a fire, mostly hidden by a lush canopy of island trees. The island is desolate and without any structures made by man. The only landmarks on the island are the natural rock monuments scattered around and a sheer plenitude of precipices leading to the ocean. Sitting around the fire in a circle are many dimly lit figures, all of which evidently originate from different parts of the world; each figure is a varying species of animal with its own distinct attributes. Everyone is quiet and quite shaken up by something. Their prolonged silence is ended by cautious chatter amongst one another. It has already been established that none of the animals have any recollection of past events or any ideas as to how they arrived at the island, though the question now is, how do they leave?

There is a heavy tension around the area. Animal's faces are marred by uncertainty and rivulets of sweat. Whilst the sun had shown before, several animals scouted out the area and returned to their camp with the conclusion that this is an island, an island not large enough to get lost on but not small enough to seem constricting towards its denizens either. Each animal was perturbed by the fact that they had all woken up on the island. Not one of them had any memory of arriving, and there are no signs whatsoever of any boats or airplanes that had come and gone, nor are there signs of any other intelligible life on the island. What's even more concerning though are the synoptical tags sewn into the skin, fur, or scales of each animal. The tags are numbered one through twenty. In addition to the numbers, each tag has its respective species' name on it as well. _#01:_ Charizard. _#20:_ Braviary. Some animals have already torn their tags from the seams of their hides, having not been able to withstand the irritation they cause.

Suddenly, the chatter is disrupted by the sound of an airplane above. Everyone looks to Charizard expectantly. He glares back in return and protests. _#16:_ Drifblim shakes his head and volunteers in place of Charizard. He ascends through the canopy and disappears shortly after. After a long wait, a whirring noise is heard reverberating throughout the valley. Then, a large metal capsule crashes through the canopy and lands directly on top of the fire, momentarily submersing the entire forrest clearing in a bright abundance of color. The animals shield their eyes and fall back in shock. Once the last of the fire flurries fade away into the night, the clearing plunges into a dark gloominess. The only source of light comes from Charizard's glowing tail fire. Once the animals have righted themselves, they burst into an uproar and chirp among each other in a panic. "Are you alright?" "I can't see anything!" "What was that?"

A blue-tinted light appears where the fire pit once was. The animals crowd around and scrutinize the light with apprehension. The light is a holographic screen coming from the capsule where words are visible in the format of a letter. The letter states simply: _You are the last of your kind. Kill to win. Be killed and render yourself extinct. Which species is the dominant one?_ The exacerbating note then disappears and the capsule appears to enter a state of dormancy. The island is quiet. Someone shrieks and the whole group is in an uproar once again. _#16:_ Drifblim floats down through the hole in the trees and says monotonously, "Is everyone okay?"

"...No," _#03:_ Pichu sobs. The young female is huddled against a tree, severely disoriented.

Drifblim approaches her. She straightens up and eyes Drifblim, getting ready to run. _#01:_ Charizard grabs onto Drifblim, stopping him from getting nearer to Pichu, and gives him a stern look. Surprised, Drifblim shakes free from Charizard's grasp and looks at the group of animals inquisitively. It's almost as if he can see them each enshrouded by a thundering cloud of depression and confusion. Driblim looks to Charizard. "What happened?"

_#04:_ Alakazam, with closed eyes, intervenes and says, "Our homelands have been consumed by fire. We are the last―or, uh..." He opens his eyes and stares at the child by the tree, unsure of what to say. He leans in towards Charizard and Drifblim and states, in a hushed voice, "We are all that is left of our species. Every other alakazam, drifblim, and charizard is...gone." Their eyes both widen. "Meaning, if we were to die, we'd ensure the eradication of our species in its entirety."

Charizard seizes Alakazam's shoulders frantically. "You're saying this is real?" he bellows gruffly, but even his stern voice shows hints of fear.

"Apparently so."

"Well that's preposterous!" Charizard booms, garnering everyone's attention. "How do you know that anyway―about our homeland?"

"...I can see it," the alakazam eventually answers calmly. "But, as far as I can tell, there is no actual need for any of us to kill each other...unless we need food."

Charizard stomps his feet on the ground in an outrage. "If you haven't noticed, there is no food on this island! No fruit, no nothing!" He sighs and grumbles to himself. "In the morning, I'm flying away." He storms off and lies down on the outskirts of the clearing where he curls himself up and shuts his eyes.

"He's so angry, when he should be sad," Drifblim says robotically.

"You seem to know an awful lot about this," one of the animals says. "So what's the verdict, wise one? Is this a free for one and one for all now?"

Alakazam doesn't answer. He doesn't move.

Another animal puts his foot down and declares, "Well, I'm not going to be killing anyone, I know that for a fact! As for the rest of you lot...some of you look rather suspicious to me!"

Everyone's eyes gravitate towards the darkest-looking individuals: _#05:_ Gengar, _#16:_ Drifblim, and _#09:_ Umbreon. The three of them are shocked. After a period of angry and violent debate, Gengar, Drifblim, and Umbreon are ostracized by the rest, to which they eventually oblige. However, the group of animals continues to feel uncomfortable, regardless of the "sinister three's" absence. Is there hope for them? The real question is, is killing really necessary?

...

By the time the moon reaches its zenith in the sky, the bigger of the two groups is fast asleep. Meanwhile, three pairs of red lights shine like little beacons on the side of one of the island's mountains. The sinister three, in hushed voices, have consultation on a cliff that overlooks the valley below. Gengar's face appears to be perpetually contorted into a nervous grimace, while Umbreon regards the dim fire at the pit of the valley with scorn and Drifblim stargazes indifferently. "I just don't get it," Gengar sighs. "Because I'm a ghost, that means I want to kill everything? I don't want to kill _anything_. I _can't_ kill anything." He turns to the others. "That would make me feel all guilty and traumatized and stuff. What about you?" He points at Umbreon, whose ears droop down.

"Gee, I-I dunno. Maybe if I had to, but how could someone like me even kill any of...them? I'm smaller and at a disadvantage."

"I think they're more likely to kill _us_," Gengar whispers, his eyes squinting. Gengar watches the sky thoughtfully until he finally falls asleep in the later hours of the night. He has nightmares—something he's never had before. Strange for his kind.

Everyone arises at dawn the next day. To the animals' horror, something has changed while they were unaware. A much heinous alteration now has their necks encircled by a tight, mechanical collar! The collars are greatly resented by each of their owners for the discomfort they cause. The animals are, once again, in an uproar. "Who could have done this?" "This thing itches!" "I bet the three we excommunicated last night have something to do with this!" The collars gird the necks so tightly that they are impossible to remove. Later on, _#13:_ Sceptile, with her sleek body, gets close to removing it, but as she separates it from her neck and lifts it above her beak, it begins flashing and beeping rapidly. She turns red and quickly replaces it around her neck. The beeping is silenced and the flashing ceases.

Everyone seeks out the mighty capsule for answers, but alas, it still lays dormant in the fire pit where it towers above everyone like a monolith.

"I just don't understand," Charizard mumbles, balling his tiny claws together violently. "How could someone have puts these things on us and not have woken _any_ of us up? It's just not possible."

"Don't worry about how they got on us," advises Alakazam. "Instead, worry about what they do."

"What do they do?"

"It's hard to say, but they could serve as some kinds of...demarcators?"

"What do you mean?" asks Charizard.

Alakazam peers around pensively. He sees Pichu watching the two of them intently with childish fascination. "I'll explain later, when there aren't children present," he replies. He suddenly looks at Charizard sternly, his eyes boring through the dragon with concern. "Just whatever you do, don't fly away today."

The days pass, and still the animals refuse to kill each other. Even the sinister three who now established the mountain range as their domain are nauseated in all earnestness by the thought of having to kill someone. The larger of the two groups currently gets its nutrients from the milk produced by _#12:_ Miltank, while the smaller group gets its water from a waterhole in the side of the mountain. Though both groups are supplied with a sufficient amount of liquids, they've become famished.

Charizard, _#14:_ Absol, and Braviary keep a keen eye on Miltank, who, despite the predicament they're all in, keeps on smiling obliviously. Absol's mouth waters. Unbeknownst to him, Pichu watches the drool run down his neck, horrified.

"Stop that now," Braviary mutters to the reprehensible canine. "You want her to see you?" he asks, referring to the cow.

"I don't care, man," replies Absol. "If we really do have to fight to the death, then the miltank's gotta be the first one to go. Killing her off would be the smartest thing to do. It'd benefit all of us."

Charizard nods concurrently, his eyes wide and staring down the unknowing cow like a hungry hawk.

"Let's just wait it out a couple more days until we _really_ have to eat—like we're on the verge of death. We'll act then." Braviary ruffles his feathers, turns around, and hobbles off, giving the cow one last look before continuing on.

The next day, everyone wakes at dawn to find yet another addition to the "game." Bags now lie besides everyone, holding a number of things within them like water, flashlights, and, most importantly...a weapon, presumably urging the group to start fighting each other sooner. The weapons range from dull clubs to automatic pistols. This time there is no uproar. Instead, everyone gazes at their bags silently, terrified, unsettled, and utterly speechless.

"I-I can't even hold this," says Braviary, pecking at his assigned weapon, a crossbow.

Absol glares at his weapon in disgust. "The fuck is this, a joke?" he bites down on his weapon, a spoon, and with a quick lash, flings it at the capsule. The spoon hits the metal, producing a metallic ping that echoes throughout the valley. "Get us off this island!" He screams at the capsule.

"There's no way off," says Alakazam.

"The let us feast!" Absol positions himself towards Miltank, who stares back in confusion. Absol bears his teeth sending rills of spittle into the air. A low growl emerges from the back of his throat as he prepares himself, only hesitating to make sure no one is opposed to this. However, there is someone opposed to it.

_#08:_ Kangaskhan puts herself between Absol and Miltank. "How dare you! You're actually considering hurting poor Miltank when she has done nothing but provide for you? Without her, we wouldn't be alive right now!"

"Foul interloper," Absol spits. "If you'd rather fawn over a fat cow than eat, then perhaps you should be the one to be eaten! Sacrifice yourself for the better of this 'community'! Or..." He eyes the baby 'Khan in Kangaskhan's pouch longingly.

Kangaskhan is shocked. She quickly shields her baby from the eyes of the others, who all appear to be on Absol's side. The animal slowly backs up as everyone else slowly approaches. She looks to Miltank for help, but the cow is just as desperate. She then glowers at Absol warily. "You," she breathes. "Why didn't you go with the other three?"

Absol stops in his tracks and frowns.

"Look at the influence you have on everyone else. You've hypnotized all of these beneficent animals and turned them into...dark types such as yourself."

Absol is truly mad now. He snarls and pounces at Kangaskhan, ready to draw the first blood since the battle began. He suddenly comes to a halt, losing his balance. Kangaskhan has her Bersa 83 aimed at the canine in her shaky hands. Absol quickly scampers away into the forest, yapping angrily. Kangaskhan's hands loosen and let the gun fall to the ground. She buries her face in her hand and weeps in sorrow. The rest of the group blinks and recollects themselves.

Everyone is momentarily cast under a shadow. The animals look up curiously and see a distant purple balloon making its way across the sky. "Now what is he doing?" "Probably something evil." "We should follow him."

The animals chase the balloon until they arrive at a beach, tinted by the orange and pink hues of the sunrise. The balloon, however, floats onward, unaware of the crowd that has gathered to watch it.

Charizard scratches his head and leaps into the air, taking flight.

"Wait!" cries Alakazam. Charizard stops, stationarily flapping his wings above the water, giving Alakazam a questioning glance. At this moment, a loud sound is heard in the distance, almost like a mix between an explosion and a pop. Charizard turns his head back and watches as the remains of _#16:_ Drifblim's body float down to the water like shreds of purple paper. Alakazam gulps as his hand touches the collar around his neck. It was at that moment that the group of animals came to truly acknowledge the gravity of the situation they were in.

19/20.

* * *

Gimme OCs. I don't really care about personality, but do what you want. no names. Specify the gender and the species (obv.). No shinies, please keep it realistic. Sorry.


	2. The Misconception

**19/20**

The ghost and the cat sit and stare from their perch on the mountainside, in a trance induced by the blending of the ocean and the sunrise. The two of them blink slowly, tilt their heads to one another then tilt back and proceed to gaze below quietly. The bigger group had recently coalesced on the beach to question the unexplained actions of Drifblim. His sudden spontaneity had aroused many questions that unfortunately cannot be answered, for he, the monotonous balloon, had floated too far from the island, triggering the bomb in his collar.

The group is in a frenzy. Screaming and panicking, vomiting into the breaking waves, and violent debates put the community in jeopardy. It has officially been confirmed that this predicament of theirs is, in fact, a life-or-death situation, where they must solve the dilemma of kill-or-be-killed. Though there has yet to be any technical homicide, the animals are now well aware of what is expected of them. The almighty capsule, the iron structure that came from the sky, has been regarded as the government, the creator of the game, and the harbinger of turmoil. The animals believe it watches them. It could possibly be responsible for the addition of the collars and weapon bags, as if it were containing such contents, waiting for the moon to rise so it can deploy them. But the capsule itself is as motionless as a rock. Cold as one, too.

The animals all gather around the capsule to have a discussion. They establish that this is not a practical joke, though that was quite obvious before, at least for the more pessimistic of the bunch. _#03:_ Pichu and certain others were horrified to find out they were not going home any time soon. The youths are in need of constant attention and placation, which Kangaskhan and Sceptile humbly handle.

Meanwhile, Charizard consults Alakazam along with several other wise animals. "It just infuriates me how these people are playing us like this—putting us in this veil excuse for a 'game,' and we can't do anything about it!"

"We can find a way out of it," says Alakazam. "The only problem we are currently facing is the lack of food. However, we have enough leather from the bags to last us a couple days."

"Hey, yeah. We can show these 'game makers' that we're not stupid! We can search until we find an infinite food source of some sort and all coexist on the island without having to kill each other. But you know what would really make them angry...is if we repopulate—you know, 'cause every other animal is dead—"

"Shut up, you fool!" _#13:_ Armaldo reprimands Charizard, peeking at the capsule anxiously. "You know they can hear us," he whispers. "You want them to...to tie our tubes?"

Charizard stiffens up, his nostrils flaring. "They can't possibly..."

"No, no," Alakazam speaks up. "It seems as though whoever these 'game makers' are are able to hear or see us and alter whatever they want in order to keep us from breaking the rules. Remember when you said you were going to fly away, Charizard?"

"...Yeah."

"That's when we got these collars. And when we said we wouldn't fight each other, that's when we got the bags. Coincidence?"

"Definitely not," says Armaldo. "Whatever we say must be broadcasted directly to them."

"Therefore, they have the power to, er, 'tie our tubes.'" Alakazam gives Charizard a stern look, eliciting one of dismay from the dragon.

Charizard thinks for a moment. "...Well gee," he says aloud. "I sure hope no cake falls from the sky; I'm allergic to gluten." He stairs expectantly up above.

Alakazam feigns a chuckle, while Armaldo follows his example. The fourth member of the group of wise animals, however, does not laugh. She frowns in distaste and eyes the sky, her aloof stare infuriating Charizard.

"Laugh why don't you?" He commands. He turns to Alakazam. "She never says anything. Never says nothin'. Doesn't contribute. She's not trustworthy."

The blue-furred animal stands up, preparing to retort by making sure she is circumspect with her use of words. "If it proves I have no intentions of killing anyone, then I will contribute," says _#18:_ Lucario. "I...I guess I agree with Alakazam—about how we should be able to survive if we were to use our resources wisely. As for _your_ caustic remarks, Charizard, I have to say I am entirely opposed to repopulating." She nods and sits down politely with her paws on her lap.

"What the—well I..." the dragon splurts. "Fine. We'll eat tree bark and grass for the rest of our lives." He peeks at the female out the corner of his eye. "But just so you know, repopulation can also serve as a method of gaining food." He then treads off proudly. Lucario looks at the ground. Alakazam tries to the best of his ability to refrain from laughing.

"Who let him in on our discussion anyway?" Armaldo inquires.

"He sure is a character. He's the entertainment of the group."

"He's belligerent and choleric," Lucario deplores.

Alakazam and Armaldo exchange concerned stares.

Pichu sits against a tree a good ways away from the vicinity the rest of the group lingers around. She sighs and hugs her legs, burying her face in them. "I just want to leave," she whimpers, her voice muffled. She hears a _click-clack_ing to her right and immediately becomes attentive, entering defense-mode. To her surprise, the noise was produced by the colliding of a bunch of small rocks, now piled together on the ground. Above the rocks, a purple animal with crystalline eyes peeks out from behind the tree. Pichu's fur sparks up and puffs out slightly. "E-evil...!" she stammers, slowly crawling backwards away from the animal.

_#10:_ Sableye shakes his head, pleading for Pichu to calm herself. Sableye takes one of the rocks, shows it to Pichu, then puts it in his mouth and eats it, hoping for Pichu to do the same.

Instead, Pichu frowns and says, "No, I really can't."

Sableye looks genuinely disappointed. He picks up the rocks, but before leaving he asks, in a voice disrupted by intermittent and involuntary cackles, "Are...you...sure?"

Pichu is silent for a moment. Then she weakly smiles, something she hasn't done since the game began, and nods her head. Sableye nods too and disappears. Pichu blinks vacantly before her body is sent into a fit of shivers. She was frightened that she had encountered the sableye, but he, unlike the other ghost-types, did not seem to mean any harm. In fact, he offered his food with Pichu, perhaps hoping to establish some sort of bond or friendship. Despite this, the timid pichu is still skeptical for the most part, which is only natural for someone her age.

When the moon emerges from the line of horizon, the animals know it's time for them to rest, and so they station themselves around the capsule and go to sleep, feeling empty and cold without the fire pit aflame. There are fifteen animals there. The group of animals is aware that the outcasts, Gengar and Umbreon, are in the mountains and that Drifblim had died, leaving his remains to sink to the bottom of the lifeless ocean. But, who were the remaining two? No one had ever seen Sableye before, though he must surely be apart of the game. And as for the last one, he still lurks in the depths of the jungle, his whereabouts unknown—provided he's still alive.

Gengar, as per usual, stargazes into the later hours of the night. This is becoming his nightly routine: just sitting at his perch on the side of the mountain, contemplating silently. Umbreon writhes in pain, his distended belly aching badly. He lies on his side, too weak to move. He's been like that since sunset, and there is little to no chance he will be getting up unless he is given some form of nourishment.

"Hey," Umbreon whispers hoarsely, his eyes focusing on Gengar from where he lays. "Still thinking about..." He stops, coughs and wheezes, then continues, "Drifblim?"

Gengar sighs. "It's just that he abandoned us. Left without even saying anything."

"But he stayed with us for nearly a week when h-he could have gone any time he wanted to ... The only reason he stayed as long as he did was b-because of us."

Gengar nods and looks at the umbreon. "We'll get you some food soon, buddy. Hold in there."

"I'm not sure I can last another night, Gengar."

"...You'll be fine. Tomorrow, I'm going to pay them a visit, just to see how they're managing and if they have food."

The next morning, Gengar sets off towards the area where the larger group is. He traverses down the steep, rocky ledges at the base of the mountain where the forest begins. Then, allowing himself to be absorbed by the shadows of the forest, he is surreptitiously transported through until he reaches the area, where he emerges from the shadow of a large oak. To his surprise, the area is soulless. The fire pit is how it was before with the capsule situated in its center. Gengar walks around the site, his mischievous smile slowly fading away. "Where did they go?" he asks himself. He scans the distance, expecting to see them stationed somewhere else, having relocated since he was expelled. He sees no one. He scans his surroundings again, thinking his eyes may have failed him the first time, but once more he finds no one. His grin returns. "They're hiding from me?" He calls out, "No need to hide! I'm just checking to see if you've found food yet! Heh heh."

The wind blows, sending flurries of red and orange leaves helicoptering down. Gengar loses his smile again as well as his confidence. In a squeaky, small voice, he says, "Come on, guys. Keh heh, Umbreon really needs food..." He looks around, but his searches are fruitless. Checking the proximity again, he makes sure he isn't missing any obvious evidence as to where they may have gone. The capsule looks exactly the way it did before he left, as does the fire pit and just about everything else. "So where is everybody?"

Then he sees something white poking out from behind a tree at the outskirts of the clearing. He approaches the white thing, hopeless and thinking nothing of it. But as he gets closer, he sees more white, as well as darker shades of red and pink that he initially suspected to be the blending of the fallen leaves and old, withering cherry blossoms. Standing over the thing, his expression is no longer mischievous, having been completely replaced by one of horror and disgust. Below him is the corpse of a fellow animal, its body mangled and torn apart beyond recognition. Its blood adorns the tree next to it, still dripping down the bark, close to coagulation. This was done recently.

Gengar stares at the animal for a long time. He kneels down and inspects the corpse more closely. He picks through the flesh and peruses through the organs, hoping to find out which animal it was. Not much of its organs are left however. He prods at one of the only few organs that has remained intact: the stomach. He peels away a piece of loose tissue to find that the stomach is filled with a dark-green, pulpy grass. "Heh?" Gengar looks around before grabbing ahold of the carcass. He begins to drag it away from the site and towards the mountain, where he eventually reaches Umbreon.

"Umbreon," Gengar pants. "I found fresh meat." He presents the mess to Umbreon by plopping it down in front of him.

Umbreon does not respond. Instead, he lies at his perch, motionless.

"Umbreon? I brought...I brought you food, heh heh. Heh?" Gengar walks up to the body. "Umbreon?" He pokes it. "...Umbreon?" He blinks nervously. "Umbreon!"

"What."

"I brought you food. Don't be lazy."

"Put it next to my mouth."

Gengar sighs and tears what's left of the flesh from the bones and puts the shreds near Umbreon's face. Umbreon sniffs it and weakly crawls closer. Slowly, with his eyes shut, he eats the flesh.

"Good," Umbreon says softly. "Is there any more?"

"All that's left are the bones and the gooey innards."

"Put them here."

"Ew! But—"

"Come on..."

Gengar groans and pushes the pile closer to the animal.

Umbreon, too weak to open his eyes, continues to eat the remains, only pausing to cough. Once finished, he says, "Thanks Gengar," and falls back to sleep next to the pile of bones and remnants of the organs.

**18/20**

* * *

_#10:_ Sableye by Radioactivesableye!


	3. The Rule

On the island, there is no longer one large group, but several, small groups that have scattered around during the previous day's chaos, although the union's strung-out dissolution had started from day one. Now everyone was either alone or accompanied by, on average, no more than two others. This separation was a terrible idea for the vulnerability it resulted in and the animals knew it—or rather it wasn't an idea, but much more of a flustered decision; the unknown predator in the woods who had already slaughtered one of the animals could now strike one of the small groups at any moment and pick them off one by one. But who was the predator? More importantly, who will it decide to victimize?

"In the midst of all the chaos, I couldn't tell if anyone was hurt," groans #09: Manectric. "I was too disoriented because someone was shrieking in my ear. I'm pretty sure my right ear's deaf now."

"I think it got someone," replied #04: Alakazam solemnly. "I saw...a flash of something, then a torrent of blood was discharged from someone."

"Really?" Manectric lays in front of Alakazam curiously. "Aren't you supposed to be really, really smart? Who was it? You gotta know."

"I'm going to say...Miltank. She was killed. By who, I don't know."

Manectric frowned, suddenly losing what little spirit was left. "But...what're we gonna drink?"

"Water."

"_Pff_," the canine scoffs. "What water?"

Alakazam, too apprehensive to continue the chilling topic, chooses to digress. "Do you remember Absol and Kangaskhan's dispute about Miltank? Absol was...incensed after that, and so he disappeared, probably holding a grudge against the two of them."

"You think Absol's the murderer?" asks Manectric. "I mean, I think it's totally plausible, considering how much he wanted to eat Miltank. Does that mean he's going to target Kangaskhan next?"

"Kangaskhan's just as meaty as Miltank was."

"Sh-should we help her!?"

"There's not much we can do. In the meantime..." Alakazam tears a chunk from his bag and begins to nibble on it.

The two have temporarily resided in the hollow of a bush on the southeastern edge of the island. This area is particularly teeming with dense foliage, making it the darkest quadrant of the island. Even if it were daytime, this forest would be enshrouded in a perpetual darkness, only accented by the gloomy reflecting tint of the canopy and underbrush. However, it isn't long before the canine notices there is actually something visible in the distance. Peeking out through the holes of the bush, he can make out something that sends a chill down his back. "Alakazam," he breathes, his voice getting to be a little raspy. "I see two red eyes staring at us."

Alakazam is immediately attentive, peeking out the hole alongside Manectric. Sure enough, there are two dots of light a little ways from their shelter. They are glistening like rubies, hovering in the middle of the pitch black forest, and they seem to be locked directly on the duo!

"A-Alaka—"

Alakazam hushes the manectric. "Who is that? Who has eyes like that?"

"It's Absol," Manectric blurts out. "He's targeted us!" He struggles to get to his feet and exit the bush. He ends up stumbling over Alakazam and getting entangled in the branches. Alakazam seizes his head and clamps his snout shut while he continues to writhe around and attempt to scream out.

"What light are those eyes reflecting?" Alakazam wonders. "Unless they're—ow!" He looks to the squirming canine then back to where the eyes were, but they're gone. "He heard us; he's on the move..." His heart rate quickening, he looks down at the canine in anger. _Bastard's putting my life at stake!_ he thinks. "Manectric, you need to keep quiet..."

Manectric attempts to shake his head and continues to wiggle around, making muffled cries for help. Then, a tingling sensation shoots up Alakazam's arm. Manectric's fur stands on end and begins to crackle with little flashes of white light. Such is the way of the electric-type.

"Arrgh! Manectric, if you persist, I'll...I'll..." He feels his hands position themselves around the canines head, all the while keeping a strong grip on the snout. Reluctantly entering desperate-survival-mode, he briefly considers snapping the Manectric's neck, but, horrified by such a thought, dismisses it and lets go, figuring the panicking canine had already too far compromised their safety.

Manectric leaps into the wall of branches, immediately getting trapped once again. Alakazam looks around, but to his amazement, the eyes are still nowhere to be seen.

"A sableye would have eyes like that, crystalline eyes that produce their own light," he muses.

"A sableye?" Manectric repeats from where he's suspended.

"A sableye," Alakazam confirms wisely. "I sense he's lost something. He's not hostile, I don't think, but by God, don't look into his eyes for too long."

"What'll—_ack_! What'll happen?"

"Just shut up for a moment." The two of them keep quiet and listen closely. There is no sign of Sableye. He must've continued on in search of something. Neither of the duo could really recall seeing Sableye before, so this was a not-so-pleasant surprise for them.

"I can't hear—," Manectric begins before he is cut off by a concerned Alakazam.

"You hear that...?"

A buzzing. It sounds similar to a tiny dentist drill about to bore through a tooth. Then, a little spurting noise followed by a pop emits from Alakazam's neck. He stiffens up, his eyes bulging, feeling himself being stifled as something opens up internally and a stream of liquid rushes down his throat. Suddenly, despite his unchanging face, he begins to speak, his words booming and slightly distorted.

"_Tsk tsk tsk_. All of you are such disappointments!" Alakazam roars, his body beginning to give off a candescent aura. "Never before have I had such a rebellious bunch!" His body arches backwards painfully as if he were being possessed. "It's been nearly two weeks and there's still more than ninety percent of you little pests left."

It then occurs to Manectric that Alakazam is being controlled by his collar, which is, in turn, presumably being controlled by some unknown outside source. "Oh, oh no!" he cries, frantically scrutinizing the collar so he can disarm it before it ineluctably explodes or tightens or whatever.

"So, I've decided to implement a new rule: at least three of you must die per day. That's all I ask. It's not that bad," Alakazam cajoles sweetly as if to euphemize murdering three animals a day. It is apparent that his collar is forcing him to say words, words which are probably then broadcasted throughout the entire island through his telepathy (the power to transmit speech mentally, an endemic shared by most psychic-types), meaning every animal must be receiving the memo. "Failing to comply with my rules will result in a very messy boom."

Manectric spots the thin drill, serving as a conduit between Alakazam's neck and the collar. It drew a little blood upon entering his neck, but Manectric believes it hadn't done too much damage. (Obviously, he can't see the internal damage.) And so, he begins to claw at the collar, pulling it towards him in hopes that the drill will be extracted doing Alakazam no further harm while at the same time silencing the bastard outside source.

"Quit your whining!" Alakazam yells. "Look, because I'm nice, I'll give you all a head start for the day and finish off your friend," the outside source said, referring to Alakazam. "Then you'll only have two to kill for the day."

"No! Don't you dare!" Manectric screams, pulling at the drill harder.

"Good luck, have fun, and, most importantly, don't disappoint me."

"Arghh!" Manectric hears a satisfying pop as the collar finally bends and shifts, exuding the drill from Alakazam's flesh.

Alakazam blinks, seemingly back to normal.

Manectric huffs and sighs. "Alakazam, are you alright?"

Unfortunately, removing the drill did nothing towards disarming the collar; it goes off, but instead of cleanly blowing Alakazam's head up, it blasts half the skin off his head and sends his right arm flying through the branches of the bush. This is the result of Manectric tampering with the collar and bending it. Manectric is stunned. He stares at the mangled head while it still emits a combination of bright aura and light from the little embers seamed into the flesh. The white of his skull is visible and his right eye has been detached. The light quickly fades away until everything is dark again, even Manectric's electric coat.

"Oh-hh-hhh," Manectric whines, picking away the bits of flesh from his face.

Alakazam groans loudly and swallows to clear his throat. "M-my head hurts!" he sobs like a child. "Mane'tri', my head! Is it bad?"

"Oh my God!" Manectric yelps, scuffling away from Alakazam.

"Where are you?" He's crying hard, trying to feel around for the canine but is too discombobulated to crawl. He continuously swallows so as to keep his esophagus from flooding with blood, but the hole that the drill made isn't within the bounds of his throat. Thus, his swallowing does nothing to help and his voice is nonetheless reduced to a gurgle. "Please, it hurts so bad ... What happen'?"

Manectric, too, is crying, but out of fear. Without saying anything, he pushes through the branches, ripping up his fur, and crawls out the other side. He scampers away, bumping into trees as he goes.

"Mane'tri'," Alakazam spurts silently, lying down on the ground, "please don't leave me!"

Gengar fiddles with his collar up on the mountain. Because he doesn't really have much of a neck to speak of, the collar is much wider and thinner.

"Geng. Can't you just disappear and escape from the collar?"

"Umbreon, I already tried that about a billion times. These collars are, like, a part of us. It's unreal!" He begins to pace the area, ruminating aloud. "Wherever I go, it comes with, even when I dissipate. It's immune to all ghost-type moves ... It's indestructible. Umbreon."

"What."

"Remember when the sceptile nearly took her collar off?"

"Erg," Umbreon uttered contemptuously. "I hate her. Yeah, I remember. What of it? Hey, why don't you slip your collar off like she did?"

"Obviously I would have tried that already, but there's something bugging me about it. When the sceptile moved it from her neck, it started beeping. I feel like touching the collar the tiniest bit would be enough to set it off. Or, if the collar is separated from its wearer, it goes off, as if the collar needs to be attached to some source of organic energy."

"So...we can't get out of this, can we?" Umbreon asks, his ears drooping morosely.

"Umbreon," gengar begins, watching Umbreon with a grave expression. "We have to kill them."

"What?"

"As far as I know, we're near the only fresh water spring on the island. That's why we're taking residence on this hillside."

Umbreon recalls how, when they were ostracized from the group days before, the two of them searched and searched for a suitable area. This spring was the only water source they saw.

"This is a huge advantage for us," Gengar continues. "If they find our spring, we can dispatch them when they're drinking. Otherwise, if they don't find this spring at all, they'll dehydrate and die."

Umbreon is disgusted. "Gengar, you...you can't ... What about the miltank though?"

"You ate the miltank!" Gengar yells abruptly. He reaches into his bag and pulls out his knife, a small army knife that's probably too small to easily kill someone and is more practical for camping out. "This must be done."

Umbreon quivers at the thought of what would happen if they were the last two survivors on the island. He decides not to bring it up and instead continues to whine anxiously. "But Gengar, I...I wouldn't be able to!"

"What a pathetic dark-type you are. You bring shame to us dark-types."

Umbreon looks sincerely hurt. "Gengar, why are you doing this?"

"Keh-_heh_?"

It then occurres to Umbreon that Gengar is not a dark-type, despite what the voice had said. The voice. Whose voice was that if it wasn't Gengar's? "You didn't say that, did you?"

"Say the thing before, about the dark-types?" the ghost replies innocently. "No, n-no..." He finds himself searching his surroundings warily, fiddling with his thick fingers in a jittery manner.

"And you, Ghost." Again comes the voice, which had done quite a good job impersonating Gengar's before. "You say you're going to kill the other animals, but you're just as scared as the umbreon. _Pah_!"

From the darkness emerges a white form, casually strolling forward, closing in on the cowering duo. The form, with its keen eyes, focuses on the remnants of Umbreon's dinner. "I see you finished Miltank before I had the chance to," it says, a hint of mock despair in its voice.

"Absol," Gengar hisses. He and umbreon exchange glances, knowing they're both in trouble.

"I heard what you said before, about how this is the only fresh water on the island."

Gengar clutches his knife tightly. He grimaces and nods. "What of it?" he asks bitterly.

"Well," Absol begins, pacing the rocky area while his fur waves about in the ethereal breeze, "seeing as you two are clearly mentally unfit for killing, I'll handle it _for_ you, if you allow me access to the spring." He pauses and raises a brow at the two, waiting for a response. He acknowledges Gengar's doubt and begins to march forward.

"Why should we give you—" the ghost starts but quickly shuts up when Absol, without hesitation, lunges and swipes at Gengar's hand. A discomforting, metallic ring sounds as the army knife becomes airborne and disappears off the edge of the cliff. Gengar wordlessly looks from the cliff to Absol's paw, where a cursory yet apparently effective blade had been annexed onto one of his fingers, making him a huge threat, should he cast any paroxysms upon the two.

"Because I will murder you if you refuse!" Absol blares. "They threw you out and left you to fend for yourselves in the wilderness because of a stupid type-based presumption that all dark and ghost-types are bent on killing." He walks to the edge of the cliff and gazes at the body of the island. After a moment, he says, "They would deserve for that presumption to come true."

**a/n: Do you guys like this so far? Should I lessen the gore a bit? Please, tell me your thoughts. Also, I think I'm still accepting OCs, so, you know.**


End file.
